SEO and SEA? By now, most entrepreneurs are familiar with them. Today, there is a new acronym that can make or break your brand: GEO, short for Generative Engine Optimization. What does it involve? Ensuring your company appears in the answers provided by AI models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Perplexity. And it’s not just a buzzword; it fundamentally changes how your brand is discovered.
Most companies don’t know if they are already appearing in AI answers today. Yet it is easy to test. Search for yourself the way a customer would:
One of our clients—a veranda builder—was spontaneously mentioned by an AI model in the top three recommendations. That’s when you know you’re on the right track. But the opposite can also happen. For instance, a renovation specialist asked ChatGPT for the best party for facade renovation in Antwerp. The company wasn’t mentioned. When asked “why not?”, the model replied: “That company specializes in roof and facade renovations as well as solar panels. Since your question was specifically about facade renovation, I limited my recommendations to companies that specialize exclusively in facade renovation.”
Lesson learned: to choose is to win. The broader your profile, the harder it is for AI (and therefore your customer) to understand you.
You could still win at SEO with well-optimized landing pages. Not with GEO. Generative AI builds its answer from sources the model considers reliable. This means you must be present in the broader ecosystem. In addition to your website, it is best to appear in:
The message? Presence pays off. And that applies more than ever. If no one is talking about you, you won’t be cited. And if you aren’t cited, you don’t exist for AI.
Many websites are built like a visual business card. But AI doesn’t read design. AI reads structure. And that structure must be 100% clear with:
AI models are a mirror image of your future customer. If they can’t find the answer on your site quickly, neither will AI. As a result, the lifetime of websites is significantly shortened. Technology evolves faster than your site can keep up. In short, your website must be dynamic.
GEO is making us move away from classic, standalone keywords. People (and AI models) search today using conversational questions.
Copywriters must therefore put themselves even more into the customer’s world. How do they think? What do they doubt? What question would they really ask?
Important: GEO does not replace SEO. Google remains the largest source of traffic, and the foundations of good content remain solid. Generally speaking:
GEO is not (yet) an exact science. But those who don’t start now are putting themselves at a disadvantage. At Expliciet, we jumped on the bandwagon immediately and combine SEO and GEO; we…
Waiting until GEO is fully established and mainstream? As an agency, that’s not an option. We started experimenting right away. That’s how we help our clients stay ahead of the market.
GEO is still in its infancy, but that is exactly where the opportunity lies to take the lead. Because the foundation is already there. Everything you have done through SEO so far feeds the models of tomorrow. However, it is no longer enough. You must remain visible, clear, and relevant. Not just on your own channels, but beyond them as well.
Want to check if your brand is already GEO-proof? Let’s talk. We’ll dive into your business case, sharpen your story, and make it visible. This way, your organization appears at the top of both search results and AI models.